Random Training Notes 16: Heavy Bag Tips

Move the bag where you want it to go, don’t stay flat-footed or let it move you

Hit it as it approaches and as it moves away

Karate etc. folks: forget the stances and think about mobility, forget the pull back unless there is something to actually grab

Work the bag at different ranges and heights. Think about 3-5 strike combinations that move up and down the bag at face and torso heights

Explore close range hooks, uppercuts, elbows and knees. Your vocabulary can include more than straight punches or swings

Avoid throwing swings- get close enough for hooks to stay tight, or be far enough that you can extend the arm 3/4 before impact

Explore hitting the bag at non-optimal ranges and angles to simulate non-optimal conditions

After each strike return to a guard that allows you to protect your face. Be watchful of the tendency to drop the hands after strikes

Strike ballistically. Let the shoulders move faster than the hips. Motivate the strike from the shoulder, don’t tie it to the slower movement of the torso

When going for impact, a higher-pitched ‘smack’ is a good sign, dull thuds are a sign of lower velocity

Follow through is important, but do not adopt the habit of pushing into the bag

A good round kick should fold the bag, not just bump into it

Front kicks may land with more force if you use the heel instead of the ball of the foot

If you train with a group that questions the need to ever hit things, spend some time hitting the bag and see how you do. All the air-punching in the world doesn’t do much for teaching one how to hit hard. Somewhere along the way this became a controversial idea in some circles

If you train on the bag hard and heavy quite frequently, consider giving your arms and shoulders a break by incorporating 1-2 week recovery periods and investing time into regular stretching for the pectorals, biceps, triceps, lats, trapezius, rhomboids and rotator cuff muscles

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"Try to see yourself as you truly are and try to adopt what is meritorious in the work of others. As a karateka you will of course often watch others practice. When you do and you see strong points in the performance of others, try to incorporate them into your own technique. At the same time, if the trainee you are watching seems to be doing less than his best ask yourself whether you too may not be failing to practice with diligence. Each of us has good qualities and bad; the wise man seeks to emulate the good he perceives in others and avoid the bad." Funakoshi Gichin